


How To Make Harry Potter Fall In Love With You: A Guide By Ginny Weasley

by Yesimawriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feels, Fluff, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas, Mutual Pining, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Top Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 21:36:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14066076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yesimawriter/pseuds/Yesimawriter
Summary: In which Harry and Ginny break up, and Ginny tries to get Harry back by any means possible. Or the one in which Ginny tries to seduce Draco and pretends to date him, and Harry gets jealous.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank my beta Rachel//restlessandordinary for being so amazing and supporting and betaing this fic last minute by finding time through her busy schedule. I would also like to thank Gigi, or @snortinglaughter, for helping me with the beginning when I got stuck and listening to my stressed out self ranting. This fic is the longest one I've ever written and I honestly hope I've done the prompt justice because it's a great one!

Harry blinked at his girlfriend. Hogsmeade, she’d said, but what about it? Harry had unknowingly tuned her out and had taken to staring at the blond boy situated on the opposite side of the room. He seemed to be playing with his food, moving it absent-mindedly from one side of his plate to the other. Harry could swear that Malfoy hadn’t eaten a single bite of it yet and that made Harry feel guilty as he looked down at his own empty plate.

“What do you think, Harry?” Harry shifted his attention to Ginny. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

“Yes,” Harry said. He had heard the words ‘Hogsmeade trip’ and ‘date’, and he didn’t really mind it. “That would be great, Gin.”

He glanced at his ex-rival again, mouth turning into a frown as he realised that Draco’s plate was empty and Harry could’ve sworn he hadn’t seen Draco eat any of the food on it.

Ever since Harry had decided to come back for his eighth year, and before that- after the war-thoughts of Draco Malfoy had threatened to consume him. He had found himself thinking about Draco more than was necessary, more than he should. His friends believed that thinking about that particular Slytherin wasn’t a necessity at all, but Harry rarely listened to what his friends had to say when it came to Malfoy.

Harry had stepped into Hogwarts a week ago, not having encountered Draco during the entirety of his train journey, and had been bombarded with praise and compliments, and a lot more attention than he deserved. He had tried to look through the crowd, over Ginny’s cries of ‘Harry! Harry you’re back!’ to see if he could spot a pale blond head in their midst, but Draco hadn’t been there.

He had only spotted Malfoy when he’d sat down near the Gryffindor table, distracted by all of the questions everyone had been overwhelming him with. They had all become background noise when Harry’s eyes had met the familiar grey ones. He had seen them spark, his heart lurching at the change, before they had dulled down and Malfoy had swallowed heavily, looking away. Harry had continued looking, his eyebrows creasing in confusion before a gentle hand settling on his shoulder had made him look away too.

After that, for the whole week, Harry had multiple instances when he had locked gazes with Draco, or found himself staring at the blond for no particular reason other than just looking at him. He had also blushed, stuttered during conversations, or stumbled on his way to class when he had noticed Malfoy staring at him first. Every single time, he wouldn’t be able to look away unless someone tried to pry his attention from Malfoy towards them.

Harry couldn’t explain why he felt that way, couldn’t explain why he could never seem to look away from the blond, or stop thinking about him, but he didn’t mind it at all. For the first time in his life, Harry didn’t have to hurry or rush or question anything, so he wasn’t going to. He was going to enjoy living his life, he was going to spend time with Ginny, and Ron and Hermione, and he would stare, glance and look at Malfoy, and nobody had to care. He didn’t have to care, so he didn’t.

* * *

 

Harry held hands with Ginny as they made their way to Hogsmeade. He couldn’t deny that he felt a certain type of warmth when he was with her. Their relationship was comfortable-it felt like coming home-and after the war and everything that had happened, he felt like that was exactly what he needed. His relationship with Ginny provided him all that, and made him feel like he was needed and loved.

Thoughts of Malfoy crept into his head, catching him by surprise. Why was he thinking of Draco when he wasn’t even there with him? Harry was out on a date with Ginny and he was going to enjoy himself as much as he could whilst he tried not to think about Malfoy.

But luck was not on his side, it seemed, because just as they were walking past Honeydukes, Draco appeared at the entrance to the shop with Parkinson and Zabini. Harry blinked at them and would have stopped moving had it not been for Ginny’s hand in his which kept pulling him along with her.

As they both entered The Three Broomsticks and sat in one of the corner seats, Harry finally decided that it was time to stop thinking and looking for Malfoy, and to start paying attention to Ginny.

“-so I told him there was no way he could have pulled that off. He had to have cheated, right Harry?”

“Oh absolutely,” Harry agreed, although he had no idea who they were talking about, and smiled at Ginny, leaning forwards to put his hand on hers. Ginny’s cheeks reddened slightly at the motion and she pushed a stray hair away from her face.

“Sometimes, I wonder why they let him onto the team in the first place,” Ginny continued to talk with a newfound vigour, and Harry found himself nodding along to her in agreement, despite still remaining clueless.

Harry continued to listen to Ginny’s ranting, throwing in his opinions once or twice, until the door to the pub opened and in walked Zabini, Parkinson and Malfoy. He should’ve known that he was a goner right then, but Harry tried to focus on Gin again. He tried. His eyes kept gravitating towards Malfoy, who had also chosen to sit in the corner of the pub, which meant that he was close enough for Harry to be able to watch him properly.

As Ginny and Harry’s food arrived, and they conversed, with Harry’s eyes shifting to Draco every few minutes, he noticed that Draco still wasn’t eating any of the food from his plate. He seemed to be drifting off despite the continuous stream of chatter coming from both his sides where Parkinson and Zabini were sitting. It gave off the impression that Draco was third wheeling the both of them. That thought made Harry feel a surprising amount of relief, because for Draco to be third wheeling Zabini and Parkinson would mean that he was no longer with Parkinson. It wasn’t like either of them had given any indication that they were together but Harry had always had his doubts.

It wasn’t like Harry cared much about Draco’s relationship status, he just felt like Draco deserved better than Pansy, a lot better. His heart skipped a beat as grey eyes met his own, eyebrows furrowed and lips tilted downwards. Draco’s face remained expressionless even as Harry emphatically ate his own food to highlight the fact that Draco wasn’t having any of his own. Draco’s lips twitched slightly at that and he finally took a bite of his food, looking down so he could hide the smile on his face, Harry guessed.

A small smile broke across Harry’s own lips as he faced Gin for a few seconds before looking back at Draco. Draco was already looking at him and raised an eyebrow as their eyes met. This time it was he who brought the food to his lips, slowly chewing on it to get his point across to Harry. _You have to eat too._

It didn’t have the desired effect however since Harry was concentrating neither on his food nor the smug look on Malfoy’s face. He only had eyes for Draco’s lips, lips that were chewing on food, lips that Malfoy was licking. Before Harry’s thoughts could go any further, his vision was blocked.

He looked up, irritated at whoever was standing in between him and Draco, until he realised that it was Ginny, looking angrier than he had ever seen her before.

“Harry, can I speak to you outside for a second?” she asked.

Harry wanted to say no. He knew that this could only mean that he was in trouble, but he nodded his head anyway and got up to follow her out.

Just as he was walking out, his eyes met Draco’s for the last time and Harry couldn’t help mouthing _‘eat’_ at him, his smile widening as Draco rolled his eyes but continued to _eat._

Ginny turned to face Harry as soon as they were out of the place, her arms crossed across her chest. Harry swallowed heavily as Ginny began to speak. “I can’t do this anymore, Harry. I can’t.”

Harry felt his heart squeeze a little when he realised that it sounded a lot like Ginny wanted to break up with him. “What-what are you talking about?” he asked.

“Oh come on!” Ginny exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “I’m talking about the way you constantly keep staring at Malfoy. Whenever I’m trying to talk to you or have a decent conversation with you, or even when I’m not, you’re always staring at him. I am so sick of you ignoring me or giving reflex responses when you clearly aren’t even listening to what I’m saying.”

“Ginny, I-”

“No, Harry. This has to stop. It just has to. This, your obsession with Malfoy, isn’t healthy, and it needs to stop because I don’t think I can deal with you like this anymore.”

Harry didn’t know what to say to that, or how to respond to her despite having listened to every word she’d said this time. It wasn’t like he did it deliberately, the ignoring Ginny part, or the obsessing over Malfoy part, but if he was honest with her, and himself, it had become a sort of habit for him. It hadn’t just started during sixth year, Harry knew that the truth was that his interest and fascination with Malfoy had begun their very first year when they had met at Madam Malkin’s and had only grown since then. It had become noticeable during his sixth year, but it had always been there.

He knew that it was different now, that there was something different between them now that the war was over. There was no more bad blood between him and Malfoy, and he happened to like the staring contest going on between them, it gave him an adrenaline rush for reasons he didn’t yet understand.

“I…don’t think I can,” Harry said softly. Ginny’s eyes widened momentarily.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry Gin. I can’t exactly stop it, it’s beyond my control,” Harry tried to explain.

“Your obsession with Malfoy is beyond your control?” Ginny asked, disbelief leaking into her voice and features. Harry nodded and Ginny’s jaw almost dropped. “Merlin, you’re not even denying it.”

“I can’t explain it, Gin. I-”

“Save it, Harry. I never wanted it to come to this but I honestly can’t bear it, so I’m giving you an ultimatum. Either you stop staring at Malfoy and obsessing over him, or we put an end to this relationship.”

“Look Gin, it’s not like you think, alright? I’m just concerned about him. He’s not eating right and I haven’t really seen him talk to anyone or smile since the trials, and I really think that Draco deserves better things in life.”

“What about me, Harry? What about us? Don’t I deserve better things in life, don’t you? The war affected all of us, and I know that you feel bad about the way you hurt him in sixth year and feel like he’s your responsibility now-”

“That’s not-”

“-but this has to stop. We’ve all been through a lot, and Malfoy is nothing special. He fought for the opposite side, Harry!”

“He had no choice!”

“I know that.”

_And he is something special. He’s very special…to me._

“Look, Harry, it’s your decision to make,” Ginny said, and Harry realised that she truly was giving him an ultimatum and Harry had to make a choice. It should be easy to choose, shouldn’t it be? Then why was he finding it so hard?

The thought of breaking up with Ginny, of ruining the relationship they had and everybody’s expectations was horrifying, but Ginny wasn’t just asking Harry to stop staring at Draco. She was telling him to stop, stop with Draco in general, and after having done the exact opposite for years, doing that seemed impossible.

Just thinking of having nothing to do with Draco made Harry’s stomach flip.

“Gin, I can’t.”

“Are you really willing to end our relationship because you want to help him?”

It wasn’t that, Harry wanted to tell her. He didn’t want to help Draco or save him, he didn’t really know what he wanted from him. Maybe he didn’t want anything when it came to Draco, maybe he just wanted Draco to be.

Not getting a response from Harry was enough for Ginny, whose eyes welled up with tears. She angrily rubbed at them as she whispered to him. “Fine. If that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get. See if I care.”

Before Harry could say a word, or even comprehend what Ginny had said, she was gone, leaving him behind to think about what he had just done.


	2. Chapter 2

“That was Potter, wasn’t it?” Pansy asked him. Draco rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath before taking another bite of his food. If Potter wanted him to eat, then he would eat, even if it was out of spite.

Draco shrugged at her when he realised that Pansy was still waiting for a response, she didn’t have to know about his and Potter’s nonverbal conversation about who should really be eating more food. According to Draco, the award for eating the least amount of food went to Potter, of course, but it could be his own bias.

“You do know that your obsession with The Golden Boy is really getting out of hand right?” Blaise felt the need to cut in, and Draco glared at him. How dare he call Draco out like that, and about something so untrue?

“I am not obsessed with him, Blaise. I cannot help it if he follows me everywhere,” Draco responded. He chewed silently on his food, not paying attention to it.

“Oh please, darling, you had your eyes on him as soon as you spotted him walking with that Weasley girl outside Honeydukes, and you made us come here because you saw them enter the place.”

Draco gritted his teeth, wondering why it was such a big deal. What did it matter if he had come to The Three Broomsticks after his ex-rival had? Couldn’t Draco walk into the same pub as The Boy Who Lived without having an ulterior motive, especially one that had something to do with Potter?

“Shut up, Pansy,” Draco muttered under his breath, eyes on his plate as he moved his food from side to side. _‘Eat’_ , a voice that sounded extremely similar to Potter’s urged him on. “Shut up, Potter,” he grumbled as he shoved a forkful of food down his throat, “Are you happy now?” He could imagine the smug look on Potter’s face and his response to that. ‘Very’, Potter would have said, looking like the self-satisfied stubborn prat that he was.

“Oh, great, now he’s hallucinating that Potter is here and talking to him,” Draco heard Pansy say and looked up sharply.

Before he could say a word though, Blaise spoke, “I think we should leave.” Draco glanced over in the direction that Blaise was and saw a few wizards giving them dirty looks. He swallowed heavily and agreed with a nod of his head. With the war having been over just recently, none of them wanted to take a risk when it came to their safety.

Draco knew that his friends especially feared for him since he had proof to show that he had been involved in the wrongdoings of the other side, he had been marked. They threw a few galleons on the table and left as quickly as they had come. Draco only realised how tense he had been when he stepped out of the pub and let himself breathe in the fresh air, and who else should he happened upon but Potter.

Potter seemed to be in shock, and Draco noticed that She-Weasley had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. Draco’s shoulders, which had just started to relax, tensed up again as Potter looked at him. It took all of Draco’s mental strength and willpower not to look away from him, from Potter’s green eyes which made him feel things. It turned out that Draco didn’t have to worry about looking away since Potter broke their gaze first, and Draco could swear that he spotted a slight tint of red on his darkened cheeks. But Potter walked away before Draco could acknowledge anything about him, and was gone, out of Draco’s vision as soon as he turned the corner.

“That was Potter, wasn’t it?” Pansy asked from behind him and Draco groaned.

* * *

 

“I refuse to believe that Snape was the sole reason behind Finnigan’s exploding cauldron. Not even he would put such a specific and permanent spell on one of his worst students’ cauldrons,” Draco argued. He was walking through the corridor with Pansy after just having finished their Potions class.

“Yes, I know and I would otherwise agree, but you have to admit that it makes sense, Draco. The poor boy’s cauldron exploded during every one of Snape’s classes,” Pansy said, shifting the books she was carrying from one hand to the other.

“I think that had more to do with the fact that he couldn’t take his eyes off of Thomas’ sweaty face than Snape’s probable hex on Finnigan’s cauldron.” Draco replied with a roll of his eyes. Thomas and Finnigan were pathetic, they really were, pining after each other like a bunch of fools. If either of them had paid even half as much attention to their Potions lectures as they did to one another, then Snape wouldn’t have gotten away with hexing Finnigan’s cauldron. Not that Draco believed that Snape had done that, of course. But if he had….

As Draco entered the Great Hall, he tried to push down all of the nervousness that he now felt at being in the midst of a large crowd, and held his head high. He didn’t have to look next to him to know that Pansy was doing the same, strutting confidently forwards. They were both doing great, almost halfway towards the Slytherin table and Blaise, when an unexpected voice called out to Draco.

“Hey, Malfoy,” the voice said, and goose bumps erupted over Draco’s skin. It was She-Weasley who was calling out his name. Draco tried to hold on tight to his uncaring expression and cold demeanour as he turned to look at her. “Care to join us,” she asked, and Draco was suddenly confused.

She-Weasley was smiling at Draco all too sweetly, but Draco knew better. It had to be a trap. He was just about to decline the offer, when Luna, who was sitting next to She-Weasley, smiled genuinely at him and waved her hand in his direction. That was what made him think that perhaps there was no trap, maybe it was Luna who wanted him to sit with her and have a proper, long conversation about nothing in particular. This was what spurred Draco on to nod his head and send Pansy on her way to Blaise while he walked all alone to the Gryffindor table.

He tried not to let his hackles rise as he neared the table and most of the conversations happening there stopped, he didn’t have to look around to know that all eyes were on him.

“Hello, Luna,” he amicably greeted Luna as he sat opposite her.

“Hello, Draco. It’s good to see you again,” she said, and Draco let out a quiet breath, slowly starting to relax.

“It’s good to see you too. How have you been?” Draco slid his bag off of his shoulder and kept it next to him. His gaze automatically locked onto Potter, who was looking at him. He immediately focused back on Luna, feeling his cheeks burning and his thoughts turning to why Potter was sitting so far away from She-Weasley, so far away from _him._ Not that Draco minded it, he was just curious.

“Oh I’ve been doing well,” Luna replied, and then proceeded to tell him all the details, and Draco was listening, he was, but his eyes seemed to latch onto Potter every couple of minutes, no matter how hard he resisted. “What about you, Draco?”

“I’ve been doing well, too, thank you for asking,” Draco politely responded. It was almost a reflex response by now, and he expected Luna to continue talking or at least relieve Draco of his talking duties. Instead, she leaned forwards, looking at him expectantly. Draco sighed, looking down at the table before looking back up at Luna, and then at Potter for a quick second, then back at Luna. “I have considered getting a pet, as you advised me to, but I have yet to decide on an appropriate one.”

“What are your final choices?” She-Weasley asked in that warm tone again, and she was looking up at him through her eyelashes, blinking her eyes a bit more than was necessary. It made Draco feel uncomfortable. “You have narrowed your choices down, right? I know you have an owl, but I could also see you buying a cat, you seem like a cat person to me. What do you think Luna?”

“Why not a ferret?  I hear that they’re agile creatures.” It was Weasley who shouted it out, and the whole table shook as everyone there began to laugh.

“Perhaps I shall buy a Weasel,” Draco drawled out in his old, familiar tone as he looked straight at Weasley, “They are quite useless after all, and I hear that they cannot survive without an owner and a leash to keep them under control.”

Weasley turned a beetroot red at that and Draco heard a few snickers break out across the table and a few hidden laughs. He was pretty sure that Weasley would have said something had Blaise not responded from all the way across the Hall.

“I think you should ask him if he’s into that kind of thing first, Draco.”

“Or maybe,” Pansy added, “you should ask Granger. She might just tell the truth.”

It wasn’t that Draco didn’t like his friends or appreciate their support, but even he could tell that they had gone too far. The table had gone completely silent again, Weasley and Granger were staring at Draco with something akin to hatred, and Draco was pretty sure he was a dead man. That was until a hand landed on his shoulder, making him almost jump out of his skin. Draco was surprised to note that it was Potter’s hand on his shoulder, not because he had just made fun of Potter’s best friends, but because Draco had been stealing glances at him the whole time he’d been sitting at the table and he should have noticed Potter getting up to make his way towards him.

Potter sat down next to him. He looked Draco in the eyes, and Draco forgot how to breathe or function, and then he passed a plate to him. “Eat,” Potter told him, sounding quite like the Potter in his head, but without the smug look or the victorious expression on his face. The look that Potter was giving him seemed serious, as if Potter was actually concerned about Draco’s health, and Draco had to have lost a few brain cells because he truly believed that Potter was.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him. “What about you?” he asked. Potter nodded his head at his plate, which was empty.

“I already finished mine. Now, eat,” he said, nudging the plate a little closer to Draco.

Draco started to pick up the spoon and the fork as he muttered under his breath. “Bossy Potter, thinks he can order everyone around and tell them what to do, thinks everyone will listen to him,” Draco took a pause to chew his food and then continued with his muttering, but was silenced by Potter.

“I’m not bossing you around, Malfoy, I’m just telling you to eat. You don’t eat enough and you clearly always need someone to remind you.”

Draco swallowed a bite of his food and broke eye contact with Potter. He couldn’t bear to look at the sincerity in Potter’s eyes, or hear the kindness in his tone. “Shut up, Potter,” Draco said softly and looked up to see a smile on Potter’s lips.

“Ginny can I talk to you for a second?” Potter asked. He was facing She-Weasley but his body was still turned towards Draco.

“I would love to Harry, but you see,” she said and suddenly leaned in to look Draco in the eyes, “I was actually really interested in listening to what Malfoy was saying.” Draco’s eyes widened at that and he watched Potter’s eyebrows furrow.

“Ginny, please,” Potter said, his voice gentle and pleading, and _how_ was She-Weasley not a puddle on the floor yet, because Draco’s own heart had fluttered at the tone.

She sighed, showing an emotion Draco couldn’t fully understand, before she nodded her head, “Alright, then.” She stood up and turned to Luna before walking with Potter. “I’ll be right back,” she promised her.

Then Potter and She-Weasley left, leaving Draco with Luna and a bunch of Gryffindors who hated him from the depths of their hearts, starting with Potter’s very own best friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry made sure that he and Gin were a safe distance away from the Hall before he stopped. “Ginny,” he said turning around to face her, “What was that?”

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He huffed out a breath and shook his head, tiredly, “Calling a Slytherin, especially one who used to be referred to as a Death Eater and who people still seem to love to find reasons to hate, to the Gryffindor Table because you apparently wanted to talk to him, was not exactly a subtle move on your part, Gin.”

“Excuse me, but what exactly do you think I was trying to do? What are you trying to accuse me of here?” Ginny asked, her voice rising.

“Look, I know that you’re still angry with me about worrying over Malfoy and not paying enough attention to you because you think I’m spending my time obsessing over him-”

“You are obsessing over him! You’re always obsessing over Malfoy,” Ginny exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

“I might be, but that’s on me Gin. You don’t have to go and try to get Malfoy into trouble because of that. He’s got nothing to do with any of this, so just leave him out of it.”

Ginny’s jaw almost seemed like it was about to drop again. “You’re unbelievable,” she gasped. “I thought that you brought me out here to talk about our break up and how you wanted to get back together with me, but here you are, talking about how I shouldn’t be hurting Malfoy and defending him instead.”

Harry blinked at her. He had thought about the breakup, of course he had, he just hadn’t known how to broach that subject with her. She was right though, he should be talking to her about their break up and how he wanted to get back with her.

He sighed, “I do want to get back together with you, Ginny, and I never wanted to break up. I just didn’t know how to say all of this to you. I’m sorry about the way I’ve acted in the past and for ignoring you, and I promise I’ll pay more attention to you in the future.”

Ginny’s features softened in response. “And about Malfoy,” she spoke softly now.

“What about him?” Harry asked, confused.

“You’ll stop worrying over him, trying to help him and just talking about him in general?”

Harry held his breath at that. He could hear the hope in Ginny’s voice and he wanted to reassure her, to tell her that yes, he would stop, but he couldn’t. He owed it to himself after the war to make his own choices. He _wanted_ to worry over Malfoy and he _wanted_ help him, and he was going to make sure that Malfoy was okay if it was the last thing he ever did.

* * *

 

Draco got up and out of his bed at the crack of dawn. He would have preferred to get some sleep over waking up this early in the morning, but he still had his Potions homework to complete. He had been quite tired the previous night so he had decided to doze off early and wake up even earlier than usual.

As he walked out into the eighth year common room, Draco was surprised to see a figure wrapped up in a duvet sitting near the fireplace and leaning against the side of the sofa. The messy black hair that he could see even from a distance left no doubt in Draco’s mind about who the figure was.

“Potter,” he said, approaching the figure steadily but cautiously. He wasn’t exactly sure how things stood between him and Potter. They hadn’t spoken since the war and Draco had only begun seeing Potter regularly since the start of their eighth year. The last time he had met Potter outside of Hogwarts had been during his trials. Draco shuddered just thinking about it.

“Draco,” Potter called out his name in surprise, and they both blinked at each other, taking a second to realise what had come out of Potter’s mouth. “I mean, Malfoy. What are you doing here?”

Draco rolled his eyes and sat down next to Potter, keeping his books to the side. “I could ask you the same thing,” he replied. When he got no response, he looked over at Potter and gave him a slight nudge. “You can call me Draco, you know,” he said, “It’s alright to call me that.”

Potter finally tore his gaze away from the fire to look up into Draco’s eyes and Draco suddenly turned his eyes away, letting a shiver run through his body. Ever since the Fiendfyre incident, Draco could never look directly into a fire, especially for long periods of time. He’d had to look away from Potter’s eyes which had a similar fire burning in them, but for the opposite reason, because this was a fire that he wanted to burn in, a wild, hot storm  he could completely lose himself in. This was the only kind of fire he could ever want to look into and stare at for all of eternity even though it could strip away all of his layers and make him feel his most vulnerable.

There was a light in Potter’s emerald eyes that shone so brightly, it lit up all of Draco and warmed him from the inside. Draco had seen it dull just once before, so lifeless and unmoving, and he’d promised himself that he would never again let that fire be put out, never let it extinguish no matter the consequences. He didn’t know what that indicated about him, but he did not really care, not anymore.

Draco was startled out of his thoughts as Potter spoke up. “I couldn’t sleep in my room. The nightmares were too much, and the darkness and silence were unsettling enough that I couldn’t go back to sleep.”

Potter was still looking at him while Draco looked into the fire, and then away. He wanted to tell Potter that he understood, wanted to ask Potter if there was any way that he could help, but his words got caught in his throat as he met Potter’s eyes again.

* * *

 

Harry had never seen Draco’s eyes from up close, never noticed the kind of grey that they were, and he couldn’t stop staring at them. After having died near the end of the war, the cold had been something that Harry had detested with an intensity that baffled even Ron and Hermione, but the coldness in Draco’s eyes only made Harry want to gaze deeply into them. This was a different type of cold, and Harry wanted to dig deeper, he wanted to dive into the cold and feel that fresh burst of air against his skin, to breathe in the cold winds as they blew over him. It made him feel like someone had just thrown a snowball at his face and he was gasping, doubling over in laughter as the snow slowly melted on his skin and his cheeks turned red, his breaths coming out in short puffs of air. 

And Harry wanted to slowly peel away every layer that Draco had, every wall he had ever put up, but he wanted that coldness to stay. There was a softness to it, to the coldness in Draco’s grey eyes, because when they were filled with fire, they were accompanied by a sneer or a smirk and cruel words or narrow-minded insults. The coldness though, gave Harry an odd sense of comfort, it made him want to delve deeper simply to discover the warmth at the centre of it all-not so he could be enveloped by it, not so he could burn-but simply because then, he would be surrounded by all of the coldness. It would feel like being wrapped in a soft, cold blanket, and surprisingly, at that very moment, Harry wanted nothing more than that.

“You know, Potter,” Draco said in a soft tone and Harry blinked, waiting eagerly to listen to what Draco had to say next. “After the Fiendfyre incident, I couldn’t look at a fire, let alone be near it. This wouldn’t have been a problem except it wasn’t just fires that I was affected by, it was heat and warmth and anything that reminded me of a fire. I wouldn’t be able to spell a heating charm or even wear layers or cover myself in a blanket.”

“I’m sorry Draco,” Harry offered. He reached out to touch Draco and give him some sort of comfort, but then stopped himself. Maybe his Gryffindor bravery just couldn’t work during some situations.

“Don’t be,” Draco said, and he tried for a smile but failed. As he sighed and looked down at the floor, Harry’s bravery made a sudden reappearance and he let his hand rest on Draco’s. Draco looked over at Harry and his lips twitched slightly upwards. “I’m not telling you this so that you can feel sorry for me, Potter. I am telling you this because there are things that can help, people who are willing to help and be there for you. Talk to your friends, I know they care a lot about you, and tell them about your nightmares, tell them what’s bothering you. I know that you think of Weasley’s family as yours and I’m sure they will support you and find some way to make it better for you. But it’s not just them Potter, you have to help yourself too. You have to realise that your fear-you can overcome it, and you have to try.”

Harry had never heard someone speak to him like this, so truthfully and honestly, so inspiringly and beautifully. He squeezed Draco’s hand before the thought to do it even came into his mind. “Thank you,” he said as sincerely and gratefully as he could, because he was quite grateful for Draco’s words and quite sincere about his thankfulness. “I will.”

He moved his hand, quite unwillingly, away from Draco’s and back into his blanket. Silence grew in between them as Harry was pulled deeper and deeper into his thoughts, thoughts of the nightmares that he’d been having since the war, thoughts of what Draco had told him to do and finally thoughts of exactly what he was supposed to say to end the silence between them.

“You know, Draco,” Harry started, and Draco’s eyes were on him. “Back when I used to stay with the Dursleys, food and starvation was a big issue for me. I never knew when I would be getting my next meal, or even if I would be getting one at all. So when I came over to Hogwarts, even with the threat of Voldemort hanging over me, I began to appreciate the little things-like being sure of when I would be having my next meal or getting to eat after regular intervals. It seemed like a dream come true, believe it or not, and I vowed to myself that I would never miss a meal no matter what happened because I knew what that felt like and I never wanted to feel like that ever again, I never wanted to remember.”

“Potter-” Draco said, his grey eyes shining with something, but it wasn’t pity. Harry knew the expressions that people wore when they were looking at him with pity, and this wasn’t it. This was something warmer and softer, something more real.

“Don’t be sorry, Draco. Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m telling you this for the same reason that you told me about the Fiendfyre incident. Eat, because there is nothing worse than dying a slow death, and that is what starvation feels like. Eat, because for whatever reason you’re not doing it, it isn’t worth it at all ,” Harry explained. He hoped that his words had been as impactful for Draco as Draco’s words had been for Harry.

Draco swallowed heavily, still not breaking their eye contact as he nodded his head in response. It told Harry all that he needed to know. Draco _understood_.

“I should probably go and do what I came here to do,” Draco said, clearing his throat. At Harry’s questioning look, he added, “My Potions homework.”

Harry’s eyes widened at that because they had Potions homework? “I don’t think I’ve completed mine either,” he said and quickly got up, rushing over in the direction of his own room.

He heard Draco chuckling behind him, saying “Good luck with that, Potter. You do remember that you are the absolute worst at Potions, don’t you?”

Harry rolled his eyes, hiding a smile. _Oh_ , _fuck off, Malfoy._

 


	4. Chapter 4

Draco didn’t know how it had happened, or even exactly _what_ had happened. It had been a few hours, and as he walked towards the Quidditch pitch, Draco realised that he was still confused about his predicament.

He had been walking alone from his Arithmancy class to his Ancient Runes one, since neither Blaise nor Pansy took the class, and then all of a sudden, he wasn’t walking alone. He had a familiar, ginger-haired, Gryffindor Weasley girl walking next to him, and Draco had to wonder if he was destined to be hexed by She-Weasley’s bat-bogey hex again.

“Hey there, Malfoy,” she greeted him with a grin.

Draco had to clear his throat, blink an infinite number of times and look around the corridor, before he could even think of giving a response. “Hello.”

“So I was thinking,” she said, and she was _still_ talking to him, still grin-no _smiling_ -at him. Draco was sure he was going to end up getting hexed again. “You’re quite amazing at Quidditch right?”

“Yes,” Draco couldn’t help but scoff. He _was_ an amazing Quidditch seeker, and he was most certainly not going to be modest about it, especially when She-Weasley, who happened to be a Gryffindor and Potter’s girlfriend, mentioned it. He tried not to think too hard about the latter part, calling her Potter’s girlfriend always left a bitter taste lingering on his tongue and maybe elsewhere too.

“Then would you like to come play Quidditch with me during lunch? I need the practice, and it’ll be better if I practice with an expert,” She-Weasley said.

Now Draco might not be modest and he might be fonder than most when it came to accepting compliments that were clearly over-the-top, but he knew that there was a reason that She-Weasley was asking him that question. He was instantly suspicious. “Why don’t you play with your boyfriend? He’s quite an expert himself.”

Draco noticed She-Weasley rolling her eyes at him and sighing. “Harry and I broke up,” she said, and Draco’s heart promptly stopped beating, or at least he felt like it did.

Suddenly everything else was background noise and Draco could only concentrate on the fact that Potter and She-Weasley had broken up, Potter did not have a girlfriend anymore, Potter was _single_.

“I’m sorry, what?” Draco felt the need to ask, to confirm what she had said and what he had heard.

“Harry broke up with me, alright?” She-Weasley said, and although Draco’s heart soared at that notion for some unknown reason, he wished he hadn’t asked her to repeat the statement. She –Weasley did look rather agitated and Draco wondered if it was time, time for him to receive the bat-bogey hex. “Malfoy, are you going to play Quidditch with me-yes or no?”

And Draco must have been in a good mood, or he must’ve gone mad again, he must’ve been in a wonderfully good mood to even have thought of saying it, let alone allowed the word to slip out of his mouth. “Yes.”

That was how he found himself confused hours after their exchange and headed towards the Quidditch pitch. She-Weasley was nowhere to be seen, but who should he stumble upon but Potter. Potter was sitting near the entrance to the field and frantically scribbling onto a piece of parchment, his glance shifting to the textbook on his knees every so often.

Draco’s signature smirk found its way to his lips but he suspected it had grown a bit softer than it usually did. “Well, hello, Potter.” Potter looked up; his glasses perched slightly below his nose, probably because they had slid down at some point of time, with his eyes slightly widened and his mouth a bit open. To anybody else, the expression would have seemed comical, but Draco found it somewhat endearing and the more he looked at it, the more it seemed to warm his heart. “Would that perhaps be the Divinations homework that is due after lunch? We were given that almost a week ago, I believe,” he helpfully pointed out.

“Oh fuck off Malfoy,” Potter said, but Draco couldn’t find any heat in his words, making his smirk turn into a smile.

“Maybe taking a break for a few minutes would not be a bad idea,” Draco said, and Potter huffed at the statement but did not deny it. Draco decided to take that as a win. “A Seeker’s game-you versus me, Potter, what do you say?”

Draco was almost surprised by how quickly Potter agreed, because he hadn’t even gotten to the second part of his deal with Potter yet. He was going to offer help with Potter’s homework, maybe clear whatever doubts Potter had. Although now that he thought about it, Potter hadn’t seemed to need any help. It was Divinations after all-anyone could bullshit their way through that subject.

Neither of the boys had flown on a broom after the Fiendfyre incident so they were both quite nervous, but also weirdly on edge around each other. A rush of adrenaline filled both the boys’ nerves as they got onto their brooms and rode them around each other, taunting their opponent or throwing friendly insults at each other. As they flew against each other competitively, challenging the other in a way nobody else truly could, they were smiling wide enough that their cheeks hurt, laughing hard enough that their stomachs hurt. Neither of them noticed the small figure of Ginny Weasley standing near the entrance to the field, her arms folded and mouth turned into a frown.

* * *

 

Ginny knew she had to do something, and she had to do it fast. She was losing Harry, she could feel it, and her plan was failing spectacularly. Harry was supposed to have come back to her by now, he was supposed to have apologized to her and begged her to take him back, but she had clearly underestimated him. She had underestimated Harry’s compulsive need to save people and forgive those who did not really deserve his forgiveness. Yes, she was talking about Malfoy. She couldn’t realise why Harry was so obsessed with him, so desperate to save and help and forgive him. She had tried to understand but she couldn’t.

Apparently, Ginny’s plan to seduce Malfoy and make Harry realise his mistake had gone wrong from the very beginning. She had started off by calling Malfoy to her table. Her plan had been to get him talking, to make him feel like she was interested in him and truly cared about what he had to say. Luna had gotten him talking but Ron had ruined Ginny’s chances, and then Malfoy’s friends had gotten involved and things had been blown out of proportion. Ginny had gotten an apology from Harry but he still refused to live a Malfoy-free life.

Her second plan had also failed. She had walked with Malfoy when he had been all alone and she’d asked to play Quidditch with him. It had been the perfect plan. Malfoy had already preened at her compliments and she could only imagine what he would have said if she had complimented him after competing with him. It would have been the perfect chance to show off and woo Malfoy with her superior Quidditch skills. But she had been far too late because she had gotten busy talking about some interesting plants with Neville after Herbology and by the time she had reached the Quidditch fields, Harry and Malfoy had been playing a one-on-one seeker game. Now, she may not know much but she knew exactly when all hope was lost for her.

That was it though. Ginny had tried subtle, she had tried to start off indirect and small, but enough was enough. It seemed like she needed to take the direct approach when it came to Malfoy. So she did. Anyway, it wasn’t like Ginny Weasley did subtle; she was quite direct, especially when it came to expressing her feelings about The Boy Who Lived.

* * *

 

This time when she found him, Draco was ready. He didn’t even have to turn and look to know that she was walking alongside him. “You didn’t show up for Quidditch during lunch,” Draco drawled. He looked her straight in the eyes as he continued talking to her. “It was almost as if you deliberately wanted to waste my time.” Bat-bogey hex be damned, Draco wasn’t going to let She-Weasley get away with tricking him and wasting his time, or at least the time he would have wasted had Potter not been out in the fields. He should actually be thanking her, not that he would, but he should.

She-Weasley pushed her hair out of her face and maintained the eye contact. “I was there Malfoy, but you didn’t notice me. You were too busy competing with Harry.”

“In that case, you were late, and I do seem to remember you mentioning that I should be on time,” Draco let loose a sneer.

“Oh shove off, Malfoy,” she grumbled with a roll of her eyes and then seemed to physically stop herself. She took a pause before turning to Draco. “I need to talk to you about something important,” she said.

Draco raised an eyebrow, wondering what this was about. “Do tell. You see I do not really have much time to waste.”

She looked like she was about to roll her eyes again, but she didn’t. Instead, she glared at Draco for a few seconds, probably hoping his curiosity would get the best of him or that he would give in. She-Weasley had clearly forgotten that Draco was a Slytherin, and even if you didn’t take that into consideration, being friends with Pansy and Blaise meant that he got to see that expression on the daily.

She finally sighed and gave in. “I like you,” she said, and Draco was reduced to blinking again, like some sort of an idiot.

“Excuse me?” Draco had to fight the urge to let his terror show in his tone and the expression on his face.

“I like you, okay? I really, really like you, Malfoy,” She-Weasley said. She was doing that weird looking through her eyelashes things again that had Draco wanting to run for the hills, activating his fight or flight instinct instantly.

“Is this some sort of a sick joke? Is Weasley behind this?” It had to be him; he had to be getting back at Draco for that Weasel thing that he had said.

She-Weasley groaned. “Oh, Merlin, I can’t do this.” Ah, so it was a joke. She looked straight up at Draco, all of the pretenses gone, all the niceness slowly leaking out of her features until just the cold hard expressions remained. Draco was almost impressed, almost. Although she wasn’t as good at intimidation as the Slytherins, she was a half-decent Gryffindor at it. “Alright, you got me Malfoy. I don’t actually like you.”

“Oh _thank_ _fuck_.” Draco was pretty close to sagging with relief.

“But there is something that I want from you,” She-Weasley continued and Draco groaned. He wanted to rid his life of all the Gryffindors, wanted to purge them out one by one so that he wouldn’t have to deal with any of them-any, but one of them.

“What?” he asked exasperatedly.

The look that She-Weasley had on her face made Draco reconsider his bat-bogey hex theory. He uneasily shifted from one foot to another. “I want to date you,” she said.

Draco almost choked on air. “Excuse me?” Cue the blinking and staring stupidly at She-Weasley’s face.

And cue She-Weasley’s patented eye-roll. “I mean that I want to fake date you,” she said.

“Why?” Draco was still looking at her, feeling as he had been Stupefied. Was he missing out on something here? What was going on? What even was his life anymore?

“Oh, do keep up Malfoy,” She-Weasley snapped at him, making Draco scowl. “I want to pretend to date you so I can make Harry jealous. Nothing would make him as mad as seeing me dating his ex-rival,” she gleefully admitted.

Draco thought about it, the knot that had unknowingly grown in his stomach, suddenly twisting at the notion of She-Weasley making Potter jealous. The thought of Potter getting jealous of Draco because he wanted She-Weasley made his throat clench, it made him feel sick.

But maybe….A thought entered Draco’s mind, and it was truly impossible, a stupid idea, but Draco’s options were limited and his chances were dwindling, so he actually let the thought through. “I’ll do it,” he said with a nod of his head.

 “What do you want in return?” She-Weasley asked.

“Nothing,” Draco blurted out and she narrowed her eyes at him. So Draco forced a smirk in her direction and said, “How many chances am I going to have to make The Chosen One jealous?” Little did She-Weasley know that he wanted the complete opposite.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry blinked, his breakfast forgotten as he stared straight ahead of him. He saw Draco…Malfoy sitting closer than usual at the Ravenclaw table next to Luna, but sitting right beside him was Ginny. She was smiling, no laughing at something Luna had said and they were holding hands. Harry’s breath caught in his throat as he looked at it-Draco and Ginny were holding hands. He looked up straight into grey eyes and quickly swallowed his food, turning his head away.

“Ron, do you see that?” Harry asked Ron, who then turned to acknowledge his best friend.

“Do I see what?” He asked looking around and even Hermione peeked over Ron’s shoulder to gaze at Harry with concern.

“Everything alright Harry?” She added. And Harry admitted to himself that he might have sounded a bit panicky, a bit desperate, but what was Ginny doing with Malfoy? She hated him.

“That,” Harry said, titling his head towards Draco, Ginny and Luna, “Do you see that?”

“Oh yeah, mate,” Ron said, frowning slightly at them. Harry could only be relieved by Ron’s reaction. “I still can’t believe that she’s with him. What could she even see in Malfoy?”

Harry’s mouth opened and closed, then opened then closed again. “I- um- she what?” He was confused and had no idea what was happening but his heart felt like it was slowly sinking and about ready to drop out of his chest.

“Harry, we didn’t tell you because you _just_ broke up with Ginny-” Hermione started to say, but Harry had to interrupt.

“I didn’t break up with her. She was the one who broke up with me! She said that I was obsessed with Malfoy,” Harry exclaimed.

“Well, you’ve got to admit mate, you’ve always been a bit obsessed with Malfoy,” Ron said. “Besides, I don’t blame her. I mean you practically chose Malfoy over her _twice_.”

“I didn’t-” Harry sighed, “I didn’t choose Draco over her, I just-”

“And since when has Malfoy become Draco to you?” Ron asked him.

“He’s not! I just- I just-” Harry tried to grasp at words which seemed just out of his reach, but none came to him. _I just don’t know anymore._

“They’re dating,” Hermione decided to cut in. “Ginny and Malfoy are dating.”

“What?!”

He gritted his teeth, seeing only red. They were dating. They were _dating?_ They were _dating!_ What the fuck. He almost stabbed himself with his fork.

“Harry?” Harry focused on his two best friends who were looking at him with a similar set of worried expressions on their faces.

“I’m fine,” he murmured, glancing down at his breakfast. He felt a wave of nausea passing over him at the notion of Draco dating Ginny. What was going on? Draco couldn’t date her! Draco didn’t date, did he? He didn’t date anyone, and Harry quite liked it that way. Harry suddenly stopped his line of thought. What was he doing? What was he thinking? He didn’t care about- alright he did care, but he didn’t care if- or maybe he did.

Harry sighed in frustration, clattering his spoon and fork onto his plate. “I’m not hungry,” he stated and, with his head still down, walked out of The Great Hall before any of his friends could say a word.

He didn’t notice Draco’s eyes following him or looking over at his half empty plate before looking back at him.

* * *

 

He was staring out of the large window in his room, watching Hogwarts students as some walked along the side of the Great Lake, some sat beneath tall trees, and some ran, stumbling behind each other as they chased each other _._ They all seemed like tiny ants from up there where Harry was sitting. He sighed, letting his right cheek rest on the cold glass pane and closing his eyes.

He got the briefest glimpse of grey eyes, light blond hair and pale skin which was followed by a flash of soft pink lips widening into a smile and then slowly opening to reveal perfectly white teeth. It was a smile that showed teeth, Harry realised belatedly, and one that made him feel all warm, as if he wanted to melt inside.

There was a knock on the door. Harry opened his eyes and rubbed at them, dragging his feet across the floor as he went to open it. He heard him before he saw him, as soon as he had opened the door.

“Eat, he says. Starvation is like dying a slow death, he says. It isn’t worth it at all, he says. I say Potter is the biggest hypocrite to walk this Earth,” Malfoy said and with an air of finality, pushed Harry’s half-finished breakfast into his hands and began to walk away.

“Wait.” Harry stepped forwards, holding Draco’s arm before he could even think about doing the action. Draco turned back to face Harry slowly, _very_ slowly. “Would you like to come inside?” There were so many questions that Harry wanted to ask at that moment, but he settled for the one that he had asked instead.

Draco nodded his head-again very, _very_ slowly-and stepped inside Harry’s room. Harry’s eyes never left Draco’s even as Draco looked around the room, seeming to observe every little thing that it contained before his eyes met Harry’s. “This room is oddly fitting of you,” he said. “Obnoxiously loud and bold colours-check, minimalistic style of living-also check, and last, but not the least, the cleanliness of the room which indicates that you barely spend any time here at all _-check_.”

Harry couldn’t help the smile that formed on his lips and unexpectedly turned into a burst of laughter. It was the first time in a long time that Harry had thrown his head back and just laughed so freely. It felt just as unbelievably freeing as flying with Draco had, and Harry felt like he could finally remember how to breathe again.

He grinned at Draco, sitting down near the window, and almost forgetting about the plate of food in his hands until Draco elbowed him. “Eat, Chosen One.”

“Shut up, Malfoy,” Harry tried to mock him, but his eyes were on his breakfast and he was so incredibly hungry.

“Here,” Draco said, offering him a spoon and a fork, _his_ spoon and _his_ fork if he wasn’t mistaken.

“Thanks, Draco,” he absent-mindedly said before he began to dig into his food.

Draco rolled his eyes and sat down next to Harry. “Don’t ever miss a meal, Potter,” he said, and the way that Draco said it made Harry look up. There was a strain to his voice, a desperation and pleading in his tone that immediately made Harry feel guilt and regret. “How will you make sure that I’m having my regular meals when you can’t even eat your own?”

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat. Draco’s voice was soft, so incredibly soft, and Harry kept wanting to stare at his lips, he did stare at Draco’s lips. “I’m sorry,” he said and cleared his throat as he looked out of the window.

“I keep telling you, Potter. Don’t be sorry-” Draco’s voice started to rise, but Harry quieted him by putting his hand on Draco’s.

“I won’t,” he promised, “I won’t.” As clear grey eyes met his, he kept his plate to the side and let out a shudder when Draco’s warm hand fell on top of his own.

“I should go,” Draco spoke and gently pried his hand away from Harry’s. Disappointment welled up inside Harry and he tried to push it away to concentrate on Draco instead.

He was about to tell Draco to stay, but something stopped him. _They’re dating, Harry._ An image of Draco and Ginny sitting at Luna’s table, chatting with her animatedly while their hands remained intertwined in each other’s. _Ginny and Malfoy are dating._

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, despite himself. Bile started to rise up his throat and Harry tried to ineffectively swallow it down. “Yeah, you should go.”

He stared down at his fingers until he heard Draco’s footsteps getting quieter and the sound of the door shutting, and then he blinked and continued to look out of the window.

* * *

 

Harry couldn’t do this anymore, he just couldn’t. He had spent the entire day just watching Draco and Ginny, Ginny and Draco, acting as if they were lost in their own little world. There was always somebody with them, of course, but that didn’t seem to deter them, it didn’t stop them from sitting so close to each other that Ginny might as well be sitting in Draco’s lap, and it didn’t stop them from holding hands or whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Harry hadn’t decided to sit in the common room so that he could be assaulted by the scene that played out in front of him. Ginny was leaning into Draco-completely-as she talked to Luna, and Draco seemed to be enjoying it just as much as she was. Harry blinked and exhaled and looked away from the scene, and when he looked back, it was straight into Draco’s eyes.

His breath caught in his throat and Harry was suddenly reminded of the talk they’d had in his room and how they’d flown on their brooms outside before that, and when they had sat down near the fireplace in the common room to have _that_ talk even before that. He felt a strange burning sensation in his chest and before he could even register what he was doing, Harry was walking away from the scene, his vision blurring. It was only when he closed the door to his room that he realised it was because he had tears welling up in his eyes.

* * *

 

Draco pried his arm away from She-Weasley’s grabby hands. By Merlin that girl was the so very clingy and incredibly touchy, and it was getting on Draco’s every nerve.

“Can you stop?” She-Weasley hissed, pulling at his arm. “What is your problem?”

“We don’t have to do this anymore. Potter’s not here.” Draco insisted, yanking his arm out of She-Weasley’s grasp. She held his other arm and pulled him into the corridor outside the Gryffindor rooms.

“What is this about?” She asked. Her facial expressions already told Draco that he couldn’t lie to her. She had her no bullshit expression on her face, and fake-dating or not, the bat-bogey hex was still a possibility.

“I don’t think we should continue to do this fake dating thing.” Draco hesitantly said. Potter’s expressions when he had walked out of the common room, and the Great Hall, had both stuck with him and he hated that he had been one of the reasons why Potter had seemed so upset.

“What? Why? I thought that you were on board with the plan!” She-Weasley exclaimed.

“I was,” Draco tried to explain, because he had been, but now he wasn’t so sure, “but I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Why not? I thought you wanted to make Harry jealous of you. I though you liked it when that happened.” _I used to like it, back before the war and Voldemort. I don’t anymore._

“We aren’t making him jealous, we’re making him upset! I never wanted to upset him,” Draco said to her.

“Why do you care?” She asked, folding her arms across her chest, and meeting his gaze head on.

Draco struggled to keep a blush off of his face. “I don’t,” he lied weakly.

“Oh, please,” Ginny scoffed, “I saw you when Harry walked out of the Great Hall. You kept staring at his plate of food as if you were going to burn a hole in it, so don’t lie to me and tell me that you don’t care.”

Before Draco could think up a proper response and deny She-Weasley’s accusations, the door to one of the rooms opened. Draco froze as he was, leaning against the wall opposite the doors, and She-Weasley glanced over her shoulder at it, distractedly.

It was Potter who walked out of the door, and he momentarily froze, his eyes widening as he saw She-Weasley and Draco in front of him. Draco paled and blinked back at Potter as he realised how it must look to him. With Draco leaning back and She-Weasley standing so close to him, almost leaning forward, it clearly looked as if they were about to kiss, or do something more. A wave of nausea passed over Draco at the thought of Potter thinking that.

He was about to tell Potter that, but Potter turned his head away and simply walked past them, leaving Draco open-mouthed and staring after him. In all of the years that Draco had known Potter, the Boy Who Lived had never outright ignored him or just walked past him so expressionlessly and without saying a word. Draco felt something heavy lodge itself in his throat, making him realise that he really couldn’t do this.

A gasp from She-Weasley was what brought him out of his reverie. “You like him, don’t you?” She asked, sounding as if she’d just had a revelation. “You actually like Harry.”

Draco tried to speak, he tried to put up that mask of indifference, to show that famous Malfoy expression of disdain. It didn’t work. He failed miserably as he tried to put up the walls that he had built, something to shield his vulnerability in that moment, from She-Weasley.

“No,” She-Weasley suddenly said, as if something worse had just occurred to her, a horrifying thought. “No. You don’t just like him, do you?”

“Stop,” Draco croaked out. He cleared his throat before looking down and quietly saying, “Please, don’t.”

But she said it anyway, the words echoing in the silence of the corridors, making Draco hear them not just once, or twice, but several times in a row. “You’re in love with him.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Malfoy! Malfoy, wait! Draco, for fuck’s sake!” Ginny hurried behind him, almost sprinting to catch up with him.

“What?!” Malfoy almost shouted, taking her by surprise. “What is it? What could you possibly want from me now?” Ginny didn’t know what to say. She was absolutely startled, and she still couldn’t believe that Malfoy was in love with Harry, _her_ Harry. “I already- You already know-” he murmured.

“Why did you agree to this then?” Ginny asked, because she had so many questions and there were so many things that she wanted to know.

“I wanted to make him jealous,” Draco haughtily stated, but he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. Ginny was still confused–

“But I thought that you-” –until she understood. “Oh. You wanted to make him jealous _over_ you, not _of_ you.” He had wanted the same thing that she had wanted.

Suddenly, Ginny had a brilliant idea! It was genius really, and it would ensure Draco’s downfall while also making sure that Ginny would get Harry back. “I have an idea,” she stated.

Draco finally met her eyes. “You want Harry, don’t you?” Malfoy looked like he was about to argue against that, but instead he nodded his head. “Well, I want this fake-dating thing to go on for some more time, so how about we make a deal? I’ll get Harry to like you and fall in love with you, and in return, you continue to do this fake-dating thing with me.”

Ginny immediately saw the suspicion in his eyes. “Why would you help me? Don’t you want the same thing?” _Merlin, why were Slytherins so difficult to fool?_

She sighed. “I wanted that, but I don't anymore, and you clearly care about Harry and want him quite badly. So I'll just settle for him being jealous instead” Ginny tried to hide the smug look on her face when a blush tinted Malfoy’s cheeks. Clearly her words had had some kind of an effect on him.

He still didn’t seem quite convinced yet. “You’re doing this for me then?”

“No, I’m doing this for Harry.” When Malfoy still didn’t seem to get it, she realised she had to explain it to him. “Look, I just want Harry to be happy, and if you are what makes him happy….” Ginny shrugged, trailing off with her sentence for extra effect.

“Alright, I'll do it,” Malfoy said, looking as if he might regret his decision, but Merlin he must’ve been quite desperate to actually accept her offer. _He loves Harry, you fool. Of course he’s desperate._

And now that she had Malfoy on board, there was only one thing left to do, which was to conduct her plan. Let the games begin.

* * *

 

Draco walked into their Potions classroom, hands sweaty, neck clammy, with his heart in his throat. He stiffly walked over to Potter, who was sat in a corner chewing on his lip, and dropped down next to him.

Potter startled as he turned to look at Draco, and then he couldn’t figure out who was more surprised, Potter about the fact that Draco was sitting next to him, or Draco about the fact that Potter seemed almost glad to see him sitting there and was actually smiling at him. “Hey,” Potter whispered, and Draco felt a warm flutter in his heart at the softness of his tone.

“Hello,” Draco said with a nod, as if acknowledging his presence, before he looked straight ahead. His face was burning bright red, he could tell, just like he could also tell that Potter was still looking at him.

He took a deep breath and tried to remember what Weasley Jr. had told him. He had taken to calling her that instead of She-Weasley. She had quite outgrown that name and it had become boring after a time, to refer to her as that. Besides, she was helping him so he might as well call her something slightly milder than her previous nickname.

  1. _Tell him that he’s doing something wrong, that the way he’s doing it isn’t the right way to do it, and criticise him if you need to. He’ll look like he doesn’t appreciate it or your help, but he does._



Draco took a deep breath as they all stood up to make the potion that they were supposed to. The Eighth Years had substitute teachers at times when their actual teachers couldn’t make it to class, and this was one of those times. Since these were eighth years, they could be trusted to work all by themselves without getting into trouble or disrupting the class.

Potter walked away muttering something about getting their ingredients and after a beat Draco realised that he should probably go after him, not wanting to miss a chance to criticise Potter. That was right up his alley after all. So Draco walked into the store cupboard and saw Potter murmuring to himself as he unsurely glanced at all of the ingredients on the shelves.

“For Merlin’s sake, Potter, here let me,” he said. Taking the list of ingredients from Potter, he quickly took the ones that they needed off of the shelves and gave them to Potter before walking out of the cupboard with just the list in his hands.

When they got back to their table, Draco began to carefully follow the instructions that were given to them, and began ordering Potter around, telling him what to do. “I can read the instructions, you know,” Potter huffed, blowing his hair out of his face, but Draco noticed that he didn’t complain.

Just as they had gotten to the part where they were putting all of the ingredients into the cauldron and mixing them together, Draco saw Potter trying to put the ingredients in in the wrong order. “Potter, that's not how you do it!” Draco exclaimed. “This,” he pointed to one of the ingredients, “must be put in before this,” then he pointed to the ingredient in Potter’s hand.

Potter looked over at the instructions, pointing out that the teacher had written it out that way. “Well, then she clearly doesn’t know Potions as well as she thinks she does,” Draco declared. Snape had been the best Potions teacher they had had hands down, and none of the teachers even came close to him in terms of teaching the subject. “Now move, Potter, and let me do it.”

Draco was surprised when Potter simply moved back to the corner and sat down in his seat. He continued to make the Potion, but his attention was solely on Potter. Weasley Jr. had said that this would work. Why wasn’t it working?

“I’m not stupid, Draco,” Potter said, suddenly and so quietly that Draco struggled to hear him. “I might not score that well in the tests or my exams, but I’m not stupid.” And Draco realised, that although he was saying it as if it were a fact, Potter seemed unsure of his own words, hesitant, as if he didn’t quite believe what he had said.

Draco sighed, letting their potion boil for a bit as he fully faced Potter. “You are not stupid, Potter. You are the smartest person I know, and if you were not so distracted by everything all of the time, everybody else would be able to see it too, including yourself.”

Potter looked up at him, his green eyes hopeful as he asked, “Do you really think so?” Dear Merlin, the boy was as dense as Draco’s brand new cauldron. Why did Draco like him again?

“Yes, Potter,” Draco reassured, “Now come help me finish off the Potion.” Potter’s eyes lit up as he stood, his face bright as he hurried over to help Draco.

_Right, that was why._

* * *

 

  1. _Eat food from his plate. Just nick it, when he’s talking to you or you’re talking to him, and continue to talk or listen, pretend as if it never happened. I know this sounds weird but he really likes it for some reason._



Ginny had been surprised to learn that the first step had actually been a success. It wasn’t supposed to have been one, it was supposed to have pissed Harry off which was supposed to have lead to a fight between him and Draco, and ended up with them becoming rivals again. But Ginny guessed that she would have to take some efforts for that to happen and that it would include multiple steps.

The more Draco screwed up, thinking that he was doing what Harry liked or wanted when it was actually the opposite, the more Ginny would get closer to Harry and the less obsessed Harry would continue to be with Malfoy. This second step would ensure that that would happen because it was something that Harry absolutely hated and couldn’t really stand. So she was quite looking forward to lunch.

She sat next to Luna and Neville at the Gryffindor table this time, making sure to sit one seat away from Harry to ensure that Draco would sit there. After all, they still had to pretend to fake date.

When Draco arrived at the table, she saw Ron glaring daggers at him and just knew that this would be good. Even Hermione had stopped eating and had taken a quick pause to look at Draco before continuing to eat, her hand in Ron’s now. Hermione and Ron made quite a cute pair, Ginny had to admit. Why couldn’t her and Harry be like that?

“Hey, Draco,” Harry greeted, looking up at him. He was smiling at Draco, Ginny noticed, and she didn’t know why.

“Hello Potter,” Draco replied and he was smiling too. Dear Merlin, Draco could _smile?_ And he could actually look like a decent human being while doing it too. Huh, Ginny didn’t know what to think about that.

“Did you complete your Astronomy homework?” Harry asked, and he was grinning like a complete loon.

Draco narrowed his eyes in response. “What homework, Potter?”

Ginny saw Harry’s lips twitching upwards and, by Godric, she had absolutely no clue what was going on. Harry let out a shaky breath before bursting into peals of laughter.

“No!” Draco looked horrified, to say the least, while Harry looked completely delighted. “Potter!” he exclaimed.

“Yes!” Harry whooped victoriously, and just as he was about to continue to talk, it happened.

Draco casually took a few chips from Harry’s plate and dipped them in his tomato sauce before he ate them. Ginny tried to hide her smile as she saw Harry halt and look at Draco eating the chips from his plate. He blinked a few times, seeming to take in the sight before he spoke.

“Draco,” Harry said, his brows furrowing slightly. _Yes. YES. This was it._

“Yes, Potter?” Draco chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth before talking.

“You’re _eat_ ing,” Harry said. _What?_ “You’re actually eating food from my plate,” Harry continued to speak, giving Draco a brilliant smile that left _Ginny_ feeling breathless. And she was _so_ confused.

Harry hated it when someone so much as hovered near him while he ate his food, let alone touch his plate or take food from it. She remembered how Harry had straight up told her to stop eating from his plate because he didn’t like it and it made him feel uncomfortable. Ron had told her not to take offense to it, that it probably had something to do with those relatives that Harry had lived with while growing up. That was the only reason Ginny had not grown angry and had let it go.

But there she was at that very moment, sitting with Neville and Luna at the Gryffindor table and watching Draco as he picked chips off of Harry’s plate, dipped them in tomato sauce and ate them. She watched Harry as he slowly slid his plate towards Draco, as he ate alongside him and added more and more chips and ketchup onto his plate, all the while, not once ridding his face of that _brilliant smile that left Ginny feeling breathless._


	7. Chapter 7

Harry was sitting in the common room, laughing and talking to all of his friends, including Ginny. “Mate, remember that time we went to the Yule ball,” Ron said, nudging Harry, and everyone began to laugh.

“Of course I do,” Harry huffed exasperatedly and nudged Ron back.

“You were terrible at dancing,” Seamus admitted, “The absolute worst.”

“No, I wasn’t,” Harry tried to defend himself, “I wasn’t _that_ bad.”

“You tripped on Parvati’s foot thrice Harry, _thrice_.” Hermione added. Alright, so maybe Harry had been a _bit_ bad….

“And you spilled all of your juice on her dress,” Dean continued. The list might have gone on for quite some time, had a smooth, familiar voice not cut in at the right moment.

“I seem to remember you spilling your juice on your date as well, Thomas. Too busy checking out Finnigan’s ass, were you?” And Harry choked, yes he did, on air before he threw his head back and laughed.

Dean went completely red, Seamus’ jaw dropped in shock, and, Harry was pretty sure that Draco had gained an approving look from Ron. He didn’t know how Draco did it, how he made Harry laugh so easily without even seeming to try. 

Draco gave Harry a nod as he sat next to Ginny, and Harry ignored the feelings that flared up in him at that. He smiled at Draco. It was the kind of smile that only came out when Draco was around him.

“I wouldn’t look so shocked if I were you, Finnigan,” Draco drawled out, “More than half of your cauldron explosions during Potions took place because you were busy checking out Thomas’ ass.” Now it was Seamus’ turn to go red and Dean’s eyes widened.

They were all startled by the sudden laugh that spilled out of Ron’s mouth, and even more surprised by the words that followed. “I have to admit Malfoy that I actually like you post-War,” Ron said and he was grinning as he reached his hand out to Draco.

Draco immediately took it, shaking it, and Harry felt warmth spreading through his heart at the scene. “You’re not so bad yourself Weasley. Also, I apologise for the Weasel thing, not for what I said but for what my friends did about the leash and the owner.”

Ron shrugged at that. “I know you didn’t mean it that way, I saw how you looked when they made that comment, so it doesn’t matter. But thank you for apologizing anyway.”

Draco nodded his head, and Harry sensed that a sort of camaraderie had started to develop between Ron and Draco. “Also,” Draco added as an afterthought, “Potter might be a bad dancer, but he is a fast learner. I’m sure he will learn how to dance if someone teaches him.”

Harry felt his cheeks grow hot and had an instant urge to push his fingers through his hair. This was exactly like the time that Draco had called him smart. Harry didn’t know how to respond or what to do, where to look, but he liked it when Draco complimented him.

“Well, why don’t you teach him then,” Seamus muttered under his breath. And Harry’s entire face grew warm at the thought of that actually happening, at the fact that he _wanted_  it to happen. He _wanted_ Draco to teach him how to dance.

“Why not indeed,” Draco said and- _what?_ Harry had to do a double take because had Draco- had he said _yes?_ “That is, if Potter wants me to.”

“Yes,” Harry said embarrassingly quickly, his heart beating so fast that he didn’t even care about the way that Draco’s eyebrows were raising at him.

He stood up so fast, he almost stumbled, and he heard Draco say, “You’re not exactly helping me prove my point, Potter,” from right behind him.

“Sorry,” he said, as he turned to face Draco, and bit his lip at Draco’s overdramatic eye roll.

“Alright then,” Draco said, and he was staring straight into Harry’s eyes. Harry wasn’t ashamed to admit that he might have gotten a bit lost in them. “Potter!”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Harry asked, and he flushed, feeling embarrassed as he heard all of his friends laughing at him.

A warm, gentle hand on his back brought his attention back to Draco and made him realise how close they were standing. “You’re getting distracted again, Potter,” Draco said quietly, so that only the two of them could hear. As Harry started to look down, Draco tilted his chin up. “I meant what I said just now, and back in Potions class. You are smart and a fast learner, but you get distracted quite easily.”

Harry’s lips twitched as he struggled to hide his smile, and oh, that warmth in his heart seemed to be spreading throughout his body now. “I can’t help it if I keep getting distracted by the grey of your eyes,” Harry responded before he could help himself. “Also, you’re a lot smarter than me, and an amazing dancer.”

He felt as if he was trying to out-compliment Draco, as if this was some kind of a competition. But he stopped thinking that as soon as he spotted the red blush that tinted Draco's cheeks. Perhaps _that_ had been what Harry had wanted, not the competition, not even the blush, but to make Draco feel the way that he had made Harry feel.

“Then why don’t you try not to get too lost in my eyes, Potter, try not to get too intimidated by my smartness, and try to top my superior dancing skills instead?”

Harry chuckled at that. Nodding his head at the challenge, because Draco had presented it in a way that he knew Harry just wouldn’t be able to ignore. After all, Draco did know Harry a little too well. “I’ll try,” he said, and Draco nodded his head, as if he couldn’t hope for anything more.

  1. _Compliment him. So much so that he gets flustered by it and knows exactly what you are trying to do._

* * *




Harry was sat on one of the benches near the Quidditch fields with his eyes closed and the wind blowing through his hair. He was lost in thoughts of Draco Malfoy, of how they had flown out here together just some time ago, of how Draco’s whole face had lit up when he had caught the snitch, grinning widely as he showed his teeth and threw his head back to laugh freely.

He remembered how they had stood so close to each other in the common room when Draco had taught him to dance. Harry was proud to say that he had learned how to dance, but even prouder to admit that Draco was an amazing teacher. He was patient and understanding, and he was a bloody near perfect dancer. He had managed to teach Harry enough that Harry could sway and dance to the beat, with Draco leading them, and without stepping on his feet. Yes, Draco was just that good.

And the way that Draco had smiled at him immediately after, had looked at him in a way that said _‘I told you so’_  , leaving his friends shocked and speechless, had told Harry everything that he’d needed to know.

He opened his eyes as the bench creaked and Draco sat down next to him. “Hi Draco,” he said, looking at him, and by Merlin, just looking at Draco made Harry _feel_ so many different emotions.

“Hello, Potter.”

And Harry liked, no, he absolutely loved what was going on between the two of them. He had heard rumours that Draco and Ginny were still dating, had seen the hand holding and the sitting together and whatever else it was that they did, but he was more affected and grateful about whatever it was that he and Draco were doing because _he absolutely loved what was going on between the two of them._

* * *

 

  1. _He loves it when people try to tame his hair, or mess it up, or even play with it in general. Just put your fingers through his hair and he’s a goner._



That was what Weasley Jr. had said. Draco had listened to everything that she had told him to do so far, and although he was loathe to admit it, it had worked every single time. He suspected he would soon have to resort to calling her by her actual name, just like he was going to have to do for Weasley Sr.

The wind was blowing quite pleasantly through the fields and Potter’s hair was all over the place, but he looked peaceful and Draco felt happy, not just because of the expressions on Potter’s face but also because he wanted nothing more in that moment than to put his hand through Potter's hair. So he sighed in a tired, world-weary way that said, 'I, Draco Malfoy, am 100% done with Potter, and every single natural element that the Earth has to offer, but especially the wind blowing through Potter’s hair, because it is a complete mess now, just like Potter'.

“What?” Potter asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?” And Draco couldn’t sigh again, couldn’t show all of those emotions again, it required too much effort on his part, so much effort.

He decided instead to look at Potter with disdain as he said, “Potter, your hair is a mess and it is flying all over the place.”

“Oh!” Potter looked up in shock, “is it?” It didn’t take Draco more than a few seconds of blankly staring at Potter and thinking ‘ _is he actually okay?’_ to realise that Potter was _teasing_ him. “I wouldn’t know now, would I, Draco?”

A smirk began to slowly grow on Potter’s lips, and Draco tried hard not to stare at them as he tended to do these days. But if it wasn’t Potter’s lips, then it was his eyes and if it wasn’t his eyes…. Everything about Potter made Draco want to lose himself in him. He swallowed heavily as he shifted closer to Potter.

“Here, let me,” he said, and he slowly pushed his fingers through Harry's coal black hair. It was surprisingly soft and he felt Harry sighing and relaxing into his touch. He gently pulled at the strands of hair and almost froze as Harry moaned. He _moaned._

Potter sat up straight immediately, making Draco pull his fingers out of Potter’s hair even though that was the last thing he wanted to do. “Sorry,” Harry mumbled. “It just felt really nice.”

Draco stared at Potter for what felt like a long time and Potter stared right back, his cheeks smudged red. Draco finally gave in to the urge and shifted even closer to him. “Do you want me to do that aga-”

“Yes,” Potter said, and there it was again. The way that Potter had responded just as quickly now as he had back in the common room when Draco had asked him if he had wanted to dance, it gave Draco hope, hope to _hope_. So he took a deep breath and pushed his fingers into Harry’s hair.

He felt Harry leaning into him, so close that his breath fell on Draco’s lips, and with his eyes closed, he said. “Thank you, Draco.”

Draco swallowed thickly as he asked, “For what?” His voice came out hoarse and rough.

“For being with me and spending time with me, for letting me be with you and spend time with you. Everything that you’ve done for me since the start of the year has made me so, so, happy. I feel like it’s made my life worth living to be honest.” Harry gave a light chuckle at that and opened his eyes. Looking at those green eyes from up close almost made Draco’s heart give out and made him skip several heartbeats in a row.

“I- I-” Draco stuttered and fumbled, and he was pretty sure he looked like an idiot as he tried to process what Potter had said whilst trying not to stare too much into his eyes. He wanted to take the easy way out, wanted to just say ‘ _shut up, Potter’_ and be done with it, but he couldn’t, not with Harry looking at him like that. So he said, “I feel the same way, Potter.”

And the way Harry looked at that very moment, with the wind blowing through his hair and the dimples showing on his smudged cheeks, with his smile growing and widening to show his teeth, it made Draco think that perhaps some things were better left untamed, and he wasn’t just talking about Harry’s hair.


	8. Chapter 8

“So,” Pansy appeared in front of Draco with Blaise casually leaning into her side, “we’ve heard some things,” and Draco wondered exactly how they had both managed to appear out of thin air without Draco noticing either of them.

“I told you those things, Pans,” Draco spoke uninterestedly as his friends sat down next to him. “All of those things.”

“Very well,” Blaise said, leaning a bit more into him than necessary. Did Blaise really expect that intimidation technique to work on Draco? Draco couldn't help but scoff at him. “How is your fake-dating with the She-Weasley going?”

“Oh, keep up Blaise. He calls her Weasley Jr. now, and he’s very much in love with Potter,” Pansy informed.

Draco blinked as Blaise replied, “He is, is he? I was never told about this change of plans.” And Draco scowled at him, at the both of them, because they both knew _everything_. He had told them everything!

“Oh, get lost you two,” he muttered. He was trying to complete his Transfigurations homework and his two best friends weren’t exactly helping him with it.

One of them sighed and Draco looked up, but it was neither Pansy nor Blaise. “What can I say, things get quite ugly when you’re fake dating a Gryffindor, and in love with another one. You can never make time for your best friends.” It was Weasley Jr.

“I like her,” Pansy said with a grin and then turned to Ginny, “You’ve got spunk.”

“Says you,” Ginny replied with an equally matching grin, “You’re the queen of sass.”

Blaise turned to Draco to mouth, “What is going on?” But as they both looked at the two girls leaning towards each other with similar expressions on their faces, neither Blaise nor Draco could answer.

* * *

 

Ginny was still on an emotional high after having talked to Pansy. She had always wanted to approach her after the war, more due to sheer curiosity than anything else, but Ginny had always been so busy.

_Ah, yes, busy with Harry and the relationship you launched yourself headfirst into, and then busy with seducing Draco. Then there was the fake relationship, and now you're busy trying to ruin Draco’s chances with Harry, no matter how small._

She tried to numb that voice in her head and push it down, out of existence, but she couldn’t forget the implications of it. Taking a deep breath, Ginny focused on her plan, and how it had gone wrong from the very beginning.

She had told Draco to do all of the things that Harry hated, that were sure to annoy him endlessly. She had been so sure that Harry would absolutely despise Draco by the end of it, but if anything, the two boys had actually grown closer. She had seen them at the Quidditch pitch. She’d been tracing lazy circles in the air, wanting to see Harry’s reaction to the hair thing, because she still remembered how he had physically pulled away from her when she had casually played with his hair.

But Harry had physically pushed himself closer to Draco, and Ginny hadn’t really understood what had been going on. Was it just her? Was she really that unlucky, that hard to love? Just as those thoughts were flitting through her mind, Neville knocked her knees with his own. “Everything alright, Ginny?”

She sighed and nodded her head. She wished it was. As she looked around the common room, she noticed that their group of rowdy Gryffindors was the only one there. Pansy and Zabini had left with Draco after he had finished his homework, claiming that they needed their beauty sleep, and she guessed that everyone else had normal sleep schedules as well, unlike them.

So she was surprised when Draco walked into the room, seeming unaware of his surroundings and looking, quite frankly, like crap. All eyes were on him as he leaning over the sofa on the far side of the room, near the fireplace, and gripped onto the side arms tightly. He was shuddering and trembling all over, looking as if he were about to keel over at any moment. His hair fell into his eyes, which were shut tight as he seemed to ride out waves of nausea.

“Draco,” Harry’s soft voice cut through the silence. Ginny turned to him and saw that he was already standing up, slowly approaching Draco, but Ginny was concentrating on something else because she had never heard Harry’s voice sound like that before.

There had been times when she had heard the soft tone of his voice, his voice full of a certain type of fondness, but never this. Never sounding so afraid and fearful, so fragile, as if he were afraid to break whoever he was talking to, which in this case, her mind helpfully supplied, was Draco.

“Harry,” Draco said, and everybody in the room froze, holding their collective breaths because Draco had just called Harry _Harry._ Harry froze too, his back to them and in that moment, Ginny wanted nothing more than to see the expressions on Harry’s face, because she was sure that they would be something worth seeing.

“Draco,” Harry said, stepping closer and sounding cautious as he did, his voice even more of whatever it had been like before. And Ginny really wanted to take a look at Harry’s expressions because Draco still wasn’t looking up.

Just as Harry had closed in and Ginny was sure that Draco was about to fall into his arms, Draco straightened up and looked Harry straight in the eyes, and _Ginny_ forgot how to breath. There were tears streaming down his cheeks and his fists were clenched tight, but it was his eyes that captured Ginny’s attention. They were full of a fire Ginny had never seen before, absolute fury, and they burned brighter than ever.

She noticed the slight deflating of Harry’s shoulders, and heard the quiet ‘no’ that fell from his lips, before he actually spoke up. “Draco-” Harry's tone was resigned, as if he were expecting for something inevitable to happen, but Ginny didn’t understand what was happening. She had no clue.

“Don’t Potter, please.” Draco spoke and Ginny bit her lip, her eyes drawn back to Harry again because it was _Potter_ now and she was sure Harry was disappointed.

“Draco, just- don’t-” Harry sighed and looked down, and Ginny really didn't know whether she was hallucinating the whole thing or if Harry actually sounded like he was about to cry. “Please don’t push me away.”

Draco looked like he wanted to melt at the tone, and Ginny wondered when she had gotten so good at reading Draco that she could tell what he was feeling by simply looking at him. Huh, maybe fake-dating someone did that to you.

“Potter, I can’t-” Draco tried to say, but Harry was already a lost cause. Ginny couldn’t see his eyes but she could tell that he had that determined look in them, and his stubborn inborn habit of not giving up had surfaced, so that was it for Draco really.

“I want to help you, Draco. I want to-” Harry started to take a step forwards but Draco put his hand up in front of him, stopping Harry in his tracks. Ginny furrowed her brows at that.

“Not now, Potter. I- I don’t want to hurt you. I will talk to you, just not right now,” Draco said. He had taken to looking away from Harry and resigned himself to staring at the spot above to his head. Ginny wanted to cuff him, yes she did, so badly, and she just wanted to tell Draco to speak up, to tell the Golden Boy that Draco was in love with him. But that didn’t happen.

“When?” Harry asked, and Ginny was shocked to say the least. Since when did Harry, aka Stubborn Potter, actually listen to others and what they had to say, when he had already made up his mind? Never!

“Tomorrow morning. You can bring me breakfast in my room.” And Ginny could imagine the way Harry’s expressions softened, the way that he nodded his head with a small smile on his lips, from the way that his shoulders relaxed. And when Draco was gone with a nod of his head, and the others slowly started to leave the room one by one, Ginny stayed. She stayed until it was just her and Harry, and then she wondered how she could’ve been so blind.

It wasn’t her. It had never been her. There was nothing wrong with her, there never had been, and Ginny had to wonder how long it would’ve taken her to realise it, if she had never seen the scene that had just played out in front of her, if she had never pulled her head out of her ass.

How long would it have taken her to realise that Harry loved Draco right back? That he had loved Draco for just as long, loved him just as hard, with just as much vigour as Draco loved him and always had. Ginny suddenly knew what she had to do.

She looked around, made sure that she and Harry were the only ones left in the common, and then she walked over to him. Harry was stood hunched over the fireplace so she put her hand on his shoulder, and as he looked up at her, smiled at him and started to speak.

  1. _Try to get him to change his mind. He might be stubborn, he might pretend to be determined, but you must get him to change his mind, and fight him if you have to. This will show him that you really care about him, and he will start to really care about you too._

* * *




The next day morning arrived and Draco opened the door to his room to find Harry Potter standing there with a breakfast tray in his hands and a sheepish smile on his face.

“You said-” Harry started, but Draco interrupted him.

“I know what I said,” Draco replied shortly and turned around to walk into his room with the door still open. He sighed tiredly and rubbed at his face as he heard the door to his room closing. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face Harry.

He'd had a rough night and an early day, and although Draco was mostly freshened up, his hair was still slightly unpresentable and he was still in his pyjamas. Before Draco could mention any of this to Harry, Harry had already kept his breakfast tray to the side and had gently cupped Draco’s face in both his hands.

“Potter, what-” Draco tried to ask, colour rising up from his neck to his cheeks until it covered the whole of his face. Harry chuckled at that, and Draco’s ability to think and speak took a complete swan dive as Harry’s hot breath blew onto his face.

Despite every single voice at the back of his mind screaming no, Draco closed his eyes and leaned into Harry. “You can call me Harry, you know,” Harry’s voice was soft and soothing and Draco felt like he was drifting back to sleep. “It’s alright to call me that.”

Draco dared to open his eyes, just so he could glare at Harry. “Shut up, _Harry_ ,” Draco said, and he felt that warmth again when Harry gave him a dimpled smile.

He brushed at Draco’s cheekbone with his thumb, fingers carefully tracing his jaw, and Draco wanted to get lost in the sensation. That was until Harry said, “I’m in love with you, Draco.” Draco’s eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat at the suddenness and the unexpectedness of it all. “Ginny told me everything,” he said, but Draco still had the words _I’m in love with you_ running through his head.

And Draco was tired. He was exhausted of pretending and planning and keeping his feeling locked, hidden and to himself. So he surged forwards and pressed his lips to Harry’s. As Harry let out a gasp, parting his lips, Draco started sliding his own against them, soft and warm and slow, letting the kiss build and build and build until he pulled away, leaving Harry breathless.

He took a deep breath, letting himself look into Harry’s eyes, then at his lips, then back into his eyes, letting himself think it before he said it out loud. “I’m in love with you too, Potter.” He was surprised at the shocked expressions on Harry’s face. “I thought Ginny told you everything?”

“She did, about the fake dating and the jealousy thing, but- wait, she _knew_?” Harry looked like he was about to go into some permanent state of shock.

“Yes. She was the one who made me do all of those things to gain your attention,” Draco told him.

“What things?” Harry couldn't help but ask.

“Well, the criticizing, the food stealing, the complementing and the hair taming.”

“Wait, that was all _her_ , and she was _helping_ you? Because I hate it when someone does all of those things.” Harry truthfully said.

“You didn’t seem to mind it too much when I did them. In fact, you quite enjoyed it, Potter.” Draco straightened up a little.

It was Harry’s turn to blush as he scratched the back of his head with his hands, and said, “That’s because it was _you_ , Draco, and I’ve always been in love with you. If it had been someone else-”

And Draco was kissing him again. Harry pulled Draco against him this time, wrapping his arms around his neck and letting one hand snake into, and _finally_ touch, Draco’s hair. He could feel Draco’s arms around his waist as they pulled him closer and pushed him so that they were both stumbling backwards.

And then Harry was falling, falling onto Draco’s bed with Draco on top of him. His hands trailed down Draco’s chest and to his waist, and he arched upwards as Draco's lips left his, touching Harry everywhere, yet nowhere. Harry groaned impatiently, pushing himself up onto his elbows to meet Draco’s lips again, latching onto them.

And Draco kissed him back just as eagerly, but when they pulled away, he pushed Harry down by his shoulders. “Down, Potter.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. “Are you talking to me or-,” he looked down at the almost visible tent in his pants, “-Harry junior?”

Draco blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Come on, Draco. Harry junior.”

“You’ve named your cock, Potter? And you expect me to be impressed by that?”

“I haven’t _named_ my cock, Draco, it’s a muggle thing, alright? And it’s universal, I think.”

“You think that people naming their cocks and calling them ‘junior’ is a universal muggle thing?”

“Never mind,” Harry muttered, starting to get up, but he was pushed back down by Draco.

Just as Harry was irritatedly about to comment on that, Draco went right ahead and said, “I used to refer to Ginny as Weasley Jr. because I wanted to upgrade her name from She-Weasley to something just mildly insulting.”

Harry’s jaw dropped, and he took a second or two to process that, before his head fell back onto the bed and he burst out laughing. He could see Draco smiling in response, all soft and warm and fond, and it made Harry feel…loved, it made him feel _in_ love. So he leaned forwards and pulled Draco into a bruising kiss, the kind that he would never forget, before saying, “Draco Malfoy, I am so, so in love with you. It’s crazy how in love with you I am.”

“And I, Potter, might be in love with you, too,” Draco said, but then gave a resigned sigh at Harry’s raised eyebrows. “I am in love with you too, Harry,” he added softly before he was pulled on top of Harry again. "So, so in love with you, that I scare myself with the intensity of it sometimes."

And as they touched, undressed and explored one another, they knew one thing for sure. They were in love with each other, they always had been, and they could never fall in love with anyone else, could never fall out of love with each other. Because if a war hadn’t changed the way that they had always felt about each other, if it had only made them realise it, then what did they truly have to be afraid of?

  1. _Touch him, sit close to him. He loves and absolutely craves bodily contact ,so give it to him in one way or another. Touch him all the time or keep close contact with him, he might flinch or pull away, he might seem like he doesn’t want you to touch him, but he does. So touch him, at all times, and keep touching him. Just keep touching him._




End file.
